Is My The Elements of Style a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The true first is the 1918 privately printed pamphlet, imprint "Ithaca, N.Y.: Privately printed," with the printer's line reading "Press of W. F. Humphrey, Geneva, N.Y." Note W. F., not the "W. P. Humphrey" carried for decades in Library of Congress and WorldCat records: the broken type was misread, and the Library of Congress corrected its record in September 2009
• It collates 43 pages in wrappers and is textually shorter than everything that follows: no Spelling chapter, no Exercises, and the Syllabication rule sits under "The Elementary Rules of Usage" rather than under "A Few Matters of Form." A second privately printed edition followed in 1919 from the same printer and the same imprint; the Catalogue of Copyright Entries records both years, and ABAA dealers describe the 1919 as the second of the two private printings
• The first trade edition is the 1920 Harcourt, Brace and Howe issue, expanded to 52 pages, and the "and Howe" imprint is itself the date check, since Will D. Howe left the firm in 1921 and the imprint thereafter reads Harcourt, Brace and Company

How to confirm the first-printing statement

Publishers stated first printings differently by era. The decisive tells are a printed “First Edition/First Printing” statement, a number line whose lowest number is 1 (Random House ends at 2), or a dated first printing with no later printings listed. Paste your copyright page into the number-line decoder.

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Check for a number line or dated printing — the lowest number present is the printing; a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the tell.
3. Verify this is the US true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
4. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
5. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Is this the true first?

US only; there is no competing UK or foreign-language edition. The 1918 privately printed Ithaca pamphlet is the true first. The 1920 Harcourt, Brace and Howe issue is the first trade edition and is separately collected in its own right. The 1959 Macmillan "Strunk & White" (revised, with an introduction and a chapter on writing by E. B. White) is a distinct revised work, a "first thus," not a printing of Strunk's 1918 book, and it is the single most common misidentification. Be aware that many general sources state flatly that the book was "privately printed in 1919," following E. B. White's own recollection; the specialist record documents two private printings, 1918 first.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue is documented for the 1918 or 1919 private printings or for the 1920 trade edition. The hazard is the reprint field rather than a club: the 1959 Macmillan Strunk & White and its many later Macmillan / Allyn & Bacon / Longman printings, plus modern facsimile and public-domain reprints of the 1918 and 1920 text (usually marketed as "The Original Edition"), are abundant and are routinely offered as firsts. A Thrift Press (Ithaca) printing exists whose title page styles the author "William Strunk, Jr., Professor of English, Emeritus"; that word dates it after his 1937 retirement and rules out an early private printing.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Elements of Style a first edition?

A first edition of The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. (Privately printed for the author, Ithaca, N.Y.) is identified by: The true first is the 1918 privately printed pamphlet, imprint "Ithaca, N.Y.: Privately printed," with the printer's line reading "Press of W.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A stated first edition, a number line ending in 1, or a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the key. US only; there is no competing UK or foreign-language edition.

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

No book-club issue is documented for the 1918 or 1919 private printings or for the 1920 trade edition. The hazard is the reprint field rather than a club: the 1959 Macmillan Strunk & White and its many later Macmillan / Allyn & Bacon / Longman printings, plus modern facsimile and public-domain reprints of the 1918 and 1920 text (usually marketed as "The Original Edition"), are abundant and are routinely offered as firsts. A Thrift Press (Ithaca) printing exists whose title page styles the author

I have a first edition of The Elements of Style — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.